(Toronto) – The Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC) announced today that the distribution of the private copying royalties collected through the levy on the sale of blank audio recording media in Canada has now reached $33.2 million. This includes the distribution of $6.8 million in the last quarter of 2004 alone. “The latest distribution of $6.8 million reflects CPCC’s continuing commitment to distributing royalties received from the private copying levy,” stated CPCC Executive Director Anna Bucci. “The process of identifying eligible rights holders has become more refined and efficient with each distribution. CPCC is looking forward to further improvements in 2005.”

CPCC began distributing funds in January, 2003. The private copying levy provides significant remuneration to songwriters, music publishers, recording artists and musicians, and record companies and is an achievement for all who champion the right to financial compensation for creative work and investment.

The levy is derived from the private copying provisions of the Copyright Act implemented in 1998 in recognition of the fact that Canadians copy without authorization hundreds of millions of tracks of recorded music for their own private use.

The Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC) is a non-profit agency charged with collecting and distributing private copying royalties. Established in 1999, CPCC is a collective of collectives that represent music authors, music publishers, recording artists, musicians and record  companies.

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For more information contact:
Alison Thompson
CPCC
tel. (416) 486-6832, ex. 221
email: [email protected]